REWIND

A roundup of news from the Business section during the past week

San Diego’s jobless rate drops to 7.7%

San Diego County’s unemployment rate fell below 8 percent for the first time in more than four years.

The state Employment Development Department said the county’s jobless rate in March was 7.7 percent, down from 9.3 percent a year ago. County employers added 8,300 people to their payrolls in March and a solid 32,600 people over the past 12 months. Since March 2012, the number of people unemployed in the county has fallen by 24,100, or 16 percent, while the labor force has grown by 13,700, or 0.9 percent.

FCC approves Boeing battery redesign

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner won U.S. approval to return to service with a redesigned lithium-ion battery, more than three months into the government’s longest grounding of a commercial model in the jet age.

Airlines will get instructions this week on how to modify their planes, along with the final directive allowing the high-tech 787s to fly, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The decision will allow the Dreamliner’s eight current operators to restart flights over the next several weeks as the plane’s lithium-ion batteries are replaced and pilots recertified.

SeaWorld stock makes a splash

SeaWorld Entertainment surged Friday in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The owner of theme parks, including one in San Diego, jumped $6.52, or 24 percent, to close at $33.52, after the company and its backers raised $702 million. The initial public offering of 26 million shares was priced at $27 per share, which was at the high end of the expected range of $24 to $27 per share.

Venture funding falls for startups

Venture capital investment in San Diego startup companies fell in the first quarter, mirroring the trend nationally.

Two reports from firms that track venture capital found slowdowns in biotech and clean tech — which typically requires more money — sparked the first-quarter decline.

County housing prices at 5-year high

Tight real estate supply and low mortgage rates have helped push San Diego County home prices to a nearly five-year high and kept sales brisk, according to a report from local real estate tracker DataQuick.

The median price for all residential properties sold in March rose nearly 19 percent from a year ago to $380,000, the highest price since May 2008, when the median value also was $380,000.

Sales also saw a significant jump in March. They rose 16 percent from a year ago to 3,762, the best recording for a March since 2006, when about 4,300 properties were sold.